Powerball at $295 Million: Louisiana Lottery Shares Wednesday Win

If you live in New Orleans, Lafayette, Alexandria, Shreveport, or Monroe Louisiana and you play the games of the Louisiana Lottery then you are a lucky person. You don't have too far to drive when you hit a big-money winner as some lucky lottery player in Louisiana did last night.

Just to be clear, most of us who collect a little cash on a wager placed on a Louisiana Lottery game can get those winnings redeemed at the retailer that sold us the ticket. By rule, any win over $600 must be claimed at one of Louisiana Lottery's regional offices in one of those aforementioned cities.

And speaking of claiming winnings, we're often asked if you can remain anonymous if you "hit the big one" in Louisiana. The answer is "yes" but most likely "no". No, you don't have to accept the winnings publicly but because lottery prize payments fall under Louisiana's open records law it would be easy for someone to match your name with the tax records. You can see the Lottery's official stance on that issue, right here.

There were some big money prizes up for grabs on Wednesday night in Louisiana. There was a huge amount of cash available in the Powerball game. The Louisiana Lottery also held drawings for Lotto, which recently produced an $875,000 winner in Albany Louisiana. And there was also a drawing last night for Easy 5.

Did a Louisiana Ticket Win The Powerball Jackpot?

The short answer is "no". Actually it wasn't a great night for Louisiana Powerball players but there were some wins of note. Here's how the drawing unfolded.

The top prize in Wednesday night's drawing was a life-changing $273.5 million and if you played and didn't win you can at least find comfort in knowing, that neither did anyone else. There were two tickets, one sold in Illinois and the other in Indiana, that earned a million dollars by matching all five of the "white balls".

In Louisiana, the largest prize Powerball generated on Wednesday was $300. There were eight tickets sold in the state that matched a scenario with their numbers that earned that amount. There were twelve other tickets sold for Wednesday night's game that earned a prize of $100.

The Powerball jackpot will now climb to $295 million, that's the estimated annuitized jackpot, on Saturday night. The numbers from Wednesday's game were:

01   02   21   37   43   Powerball 21    and Power Play x3

Before you run out to the store to collect your winnings please verify your tickets at the Official Louisiana Lottery Website or the Official Powerball Website. You can also get confirmation on your prize amount and how to collect the cash.

Louisiana Lottery Confirms $110,000 Winner on Wednesday Night

Last night's largest lottery win in Louisiana came at the hands of my favorite game, Easy 5. I like Easy 5 because the game seems to make a jackpot winner two or three times a month. In fact, the last Easy 5 win came on September 7th when a ticket sold in Marrero claimed a prize of $60,000.

Last night's Easy 5 win was for $110,000. According to my sources at the Louisiana Lottery that ticket was purchased at Northshore Chevron in Slidell. If you bought a ticket for Easy 5 there, you really need to check the numbers and sign the back of the ticket.

Mega Millions Jackpot Climbing for Friday Night's Drawing

Mega Millions, the other multi-state lottery game available in Louisiana will draw on Friday night. The jackpot in that game is estimated to be $108 million for the annuity prize. If you opt for the lump sum or cash payout your prize would be $53.8 million before the taxman asks for his share.

The next Powerball drawing for Louisiana players will come on Saturday night. The estimated top prize in that game is $295 million for the annuity or $147.9 million for the lump sum.

Please remember lottery games involve the risk of losing money. If you have a gambling problem please get help. It is available by calling 1-877-770-STOP (7867). The call and the referrals are free. Good Luck.